Community Sports
Sports Beat | Gig Harbor’s Snyder is third-ranked high school golfer in the country
The Gig Harbor boys golf team’s scores keep going lower and lower, while Theo Snyder’s national ranking keeps rising higher and higher.
Synder shot a 4-under-par 32 at Madrona Links on April 1 during a 187-206 win over Central Kitsap. Snyder, a Gig Harbor junior, is now the No. 3-ranked high school player in the country according to I Wanamaker, which compiles national high school rankings.
Synder had a fantastic summer of 2024, winning the Washington Junior Championship. During winter break, he won the Western States Cup, shooting nine under par (rounds of 68, 69, 70) in Menifee, Calif. Then he won the FCG Callaway Winter Championship, overcoming an opening-round 74 with consecutive 66s to finish 10 under par.
Theo Snyder of Gig Harbor is the third-ranked high school golfer in the country. Photo courtesy of Theo Snyder
Snyder isn’t the only talented Tide tearing up Madrona Links’ tight fairways and tricky greens this spring.
Timmy Quirk and Liam Dalbec regularly compete to be the No. 2 Tide behind Snyder. Both players look like contenders to place at state.
Several other Tides could be No. 1 players on other Puget Sound League teams. They include Davis Dansie, Henry Wilsie, Parker Bare, Max Ferrier, James Burleigh, Cole Browne and August Schaumburg.
Gig Harbor is undefeated and eyeing a key April 21 matchup against Bellarmine that will probably decide the Puget Sound League title. The Tides will have the distinct advantage of playing that match at Madrona Links, especially with Synder threatening the nine-hole course record of 30 every time he steps to the tee.
First, though, the team will travel to Eastern Washington to play in the Gamble Sands Invitational tournament that features the best teams in the state of Washington on April 4 and 5.
Game was over until it wasn’t, then it was again
Editor’s note: After publication, we learned that many details from this item about the Peninsula-Prairie game were incorrect. It’s practically impossible to correct the errors without completely removing the item; and removing the item seems dishonest. Read our correction here. Long story short, the catcher tagged third base using the game ball.
The Peninsula baseball team (6-1, 5-0 Puget Sound League) defeated an overmatched River Ridge team by scores of 12-4 on March 31 and 13-0 on April 1.
The Seahawks’ lone loss came March 29 to Prairie of Clark County, 2-1, at Sehmel Park. It was one of the most dramatic and unique finishes I have witnessed.
Prairie led 2-0 entering the seventh and final inning before Peninsula scored to pull within a run. The Seahawks had a runner on third base with one out and freshman Daniel Sleeter at the plate.
Sleeter drilled a line drive back at the Prairie pitcher, who made an amazing catch an inch off the ground. The Seahawk runner, who thought the ball hopped, came home from third. The pitcher threw home and the Prairie catcher stood in front of the plate to tag the runner out.
The umpire called the batter and the runner out and signaled that the game was over. But Seahawk coach Matt Thomas came out of the dugout to argue that the runner was safe because the catcher blocked the basepath.
After a conference, the umpires signaled the runner safe and the game tied at 2. But the clever Prairie catcher frantically looked for the ball, which had been in his glove before he tossed it away in celebration. The ball had rolled right in front of where I sat in the bleachers, but tightly up against the fence.
The catcher quietly asked his teammates “Where’d the ball go? The runner didn’t tag up on third.” Nobody knew where the game ball was, so a player in the dugout reached in a bucket and rolled out a ball onto the turf. The catcher grabbed it and touched third base.
The umpire called the runner out and the game over again, without knowing that the ball came out of a bucket and wasn’t the baseball used in the game.
With their undefeated streak snapped, Thomas and the Seahawks stood stunned at the “game over, game tied, game over” scenario. The umpires trotted off the field and the quick-thinking Prairie catcher winked at his teammates before a Prairie fan fittingly said: “That’s baseball!”
The Gig Harbor baseball team (8-0, 5-0 PSL) stayed undefeated and might move back into the top spot in MaxPreps’ Class 3A state rankings after 4-0 and 3-0 wins over Silas on April 1 and 2.
Cheerleading, dance teams compete at nationals
The Gig Harbor cheerleaders came close to a state championship in the pom division on March 28 at the Yakima Sun Dome. The Tides finished with 263.6 points, just behind Class 3A winner Mercer Island’s score of 270. This was the Tides’ second straight state runner-up performance.
The Gig Harbor dance team, H2Whoa, placed fifth at the state championships with 257.3 points, 20 points behind champion Lakes. The team won the district title earlier this season and collected two state titles in the last four years but had 14 first-year dancers.
Gig Harbor High School cheerleaders. Photo by Bryce Carithers
Both Tides teams recently competed at the Universal Dance Association High School National Tournament in Orlando. The pom squad finished eighth and the Hip Hop team finished 11th.
“It was a unique experience and something we haven’t done before and very humbling to compete with dance teams who were established long before our school was even built,” said Gig Harbor coach Tifny Eicher, a former Seahawks cheerleader.
H2Whoa!, the Gig Harbor High School dance team, placed fifth at the state championships this year. Photo courtesy of H2Whoa!
Gig Harbor wins tennis rivalry match, 3-2
The Gig Harbor and Peninsula girls tennis teams have already renewed their rivalry this spring. The Tides won a 3-2 nail-biter on their home courts on April 3 after their third doubles team of seniors Josie Crane and Sarena Thoms closed out a 6-2, 6-3 win over McKinley Stalker and Chelsea Bass of Peninsula.
Junior McKenna Baurichter, who won the South Sound Conference singles championship last year, played on Peninsula’s first doubles team Thursday with Margaux Mayer. They defeated the young Tides duo of Serena Pitt and Lana Vicente 6-3, 6-1.
Junior Lauren Pitt, Gig Harbor’s first singles player, showed her complete game in a 6-0, 6-2 win over Seahawk Theresa Cottey. The Seahawks tied the contest when Olivia Mercado won the big points to beat Gig Harbor sophomore Capri Hauer, 6-3, 6-4.
The Gig Harbor team of Anya Schmid and Phebe Best won the second doubles match, 6-3, 6-3 over Lily Lindbergh and Mandy Pleve of Peninsula.
Gig Harbor (4-0, 3-0 PSL) stayed in the thick of the Narrows Division race with Bellarmine and Silas. Peninsula (1-2) pushed the Tides to the brink and should start racking up wins after opening the season against tough frontrunners Silas and Gig Harbor.
Mckenna Baurichter of Peninsula during a match last season. Photo by Bryce Carithers